A Stuffed Cheonma in my Head - Chapter 39



Only Noblemtl

Episode 039. The whole world was blood red.

* * *

The antithesis of my contrast was flight. In other words, it was a march.

It wasn’t unfamiliar. It wasn’t embarrassing.

Because in the end, the most important thing is to somehow survive.

So I ran. Without delay. Without a moment’s hesitation.

But, the moment something snapped in my head and my vision turned red, I stopped.

My complicated mind calmed down.

My thoughts began to flow more simply.

‘Why should I run away? I can just kill them all.’

The internal energy in my danjeon began to boil.

I felt like I was going crazy.

I turned around, ready to cut down everything that stood in my way.

The whole world was dyed blood red.

Arrows of ice soaked with cold air, large chunks of dirt that looked like they would shatter my head if I hit them, and blazing red balls of fire were all flying towards me like a tidal wave, all mixed together.

Arrows, clumps of dirt, balls of fire. They were all blood red.

I looked at it with the mindset of a heavenly horse.

I asked.

“What is that magic?”

I answered.

“It’s magic, Master.”

I said in a nonchalant tone.

“It’s annoying. Just cut it off.”

I answered in a bewildered tone.

“Master. How do you cut magic? I’ve never heard of such a case.”

I gave the order without thinking much.

“What else can’t you cut? Just cut it.”

Then he added one word arrogantly.

“There is nothing I cannot cut.”

I answered, gripping the hilt of the knife tightly.

“Yes, Master.”

I asked myself questions like a madman.

It goes without saying that to catch a mad wizard, you have to become a mad swordsman.

If you want to catch a monster, you have to become a monster.

I put the sword into the imaginary scabbard at my waist and let the boiling internal energy flow through my entire body.

Kkiuung―

A chilling sword sound rang out.

He looked at the sword, which had turned a darker shade of red than before, and swung it forward.

Chomp!

A wide spread of crimson black energy was scattered toward the bloody world.

It flew like a sunset horizon, cutting beautifully across the blood-red tidal wave.

The sword energy that flew at a rapid pace met the gigantic tidal wave of magic that was coming towards me, and split the tidal wave in half.

Plop!

The flying magic was split by the black energy and disappeared.

It looked as if the waist of the tsunami had been cut off.

I could briefly see the mad wizard looking over from afar with his mouth wide open.

Casting magic.

This isn’t what you expected, is it?

I didn’t expect that, you little shit.

Within seconds, waves of magic that had blown my waist poured down around me.

Kwakwakwakwang!

A cloud of dust rose.

The mad wizard gulped down the potion and cast spells indiscriminately toward the dust where I was.

The potion may not be infinite.

But if I make a mistake before that potion runs out, I’ll be the first one to fall.

I sent my boiling internal energy in the dust into the path of the wind.

The wind blew roughly around my body.

Kkiyaak! Kkuaaaak!

The sound of the wind, stronger than before, rang clearly in my ears. It was now closer to a scream than the howling of a ghost.

I kicked the ground and fired the new shape before the additional flying magics could arrive.

The dizzying sense of speed I felt in that moment took my breath away.

But soon he let out a laugh and turned it into enjoyment.

“ha ha ha!”

My heart was pounding. It was beating very fast.

It was much faster than before.

A red afterimage followed me.

Suddenly a huge ball of fire appeared before my eyes.

It wasn’t the fireball that was fast, it was me running fast.

“It’s a surprise.”

I swung my sword.

Crispy!

The sword, bathed in a crimson aura, cut right through the center of the sphere, and the fireball evaporated and disappeared without a trace.

They say mana is a product of Mother Nature.

The road will return to nature.

I swung my sword and cleared a path, removing the flying spells.

Lightning struck several times, but they only struck my afterimage.

Before I knew it, I was standing in front of a crazy wizard with wide eyes.

Should I teleport or not?

It didn’t matter either way.

I locked eyes with a mad wizard.

When I chuckled, he shook his cane in surprise.

Just before the sword broke through the bastard’s shield, a blue light flashed and the mad wizard appeared behind him.

Something seems to have gone wrong, as we have moved a much shorter distance than before.

He bent over, vomiting black blood.

“Oh, old man. Are you okay?”

I was worried and quickly closed the distance between us, thinking of patting her on the back.

The mad wizard was startled, took out a potion, and drank it down in a hurry.

The black potion flowed down his neck.

I ran towards him, and at one point I kicked the ground and jumped up.

“Bloody lightning. Here we go.”

I soon became a bolt of lightning and fell down on him.

The mad wizard hastily raised his wand, but it was of little use.

Wow!!

If the previous breach had only shattered part of the barrier, this time the entire barrier was shattered.

The translucent shield quickly began to crack here and there, then shattered into pieces.

Clang!

As the barrier was completely shattered, the mad wizard spat out black blood.

But the lightning didn’t stop falling.

Zzz!

The mad wizard blocked my attack with both hands, his staff raised while kneeling on one knee.

Either the staff was that strong, or he had mana wrapped around the staff like an aura, or this was also a type of magic.

Whatever it was, it didn’t matter.

I grinned and muttered.

“Oops. My hand slipped.”

The sword curved at an odd angle and cut the wrist of the wizard holding the staff.

“Kwaaaaak!”

The old man dropped his cane and held his wrist, from which black blood was gushing out like a fountain.

“This is the Great Snake—no, the Four Curved Sword. Old man. Never disrespect the Four Curved Sword again.”

“Eww!”

But the old man was busy screaming.

I kicked his cane away, then regained my composure and looked around.

The whole world was blood red.

“Hahahaha… … .”

The sun was setting.

I laughed heartily as I looked at the blood-red sun, because I felt refreshed.

The reason wasn’t clear. What did it matter?

“Ahhhhh!”

I stared blankly at the wizard who was acting like the world was falling apart over a single severed wrist.

This guy looked like he had never been cut by a sword in his life.

I calmed him down by kicking his chest, which was rolling around.

“Old man. Are you of sound mind?”

The wizard looked at me, holding his severed wrist.

The same composure as before could not be found in those eyes.

“Ahh… … This, this devil. How on earth… … .”

I asked, tapping his shoulder with my black mask.

“Is that your will?”

The old man jumped up and fell to his knees.

“Save me, save me. What do you want? Gold? Knowledge? Women? Power? I’ll give you anything. Just say the word.”

I replied with a snicker.

“Your life.”

“……ah.”

A shadow of despair fell over the old man’s bloodshot face.

“Are you afraid? Of death?”

“… … .”

“Why do you want to live so long when you can’t even enjoy life? There is no desire as vain as that.”

He opened his mouth, but didn’t say anything.

It’s not often that I get a chance to pour out my heart and soul to someone, so I had a great chat with an old man who was dying.

“You must have been in darkness from the moment you put on your hood. You look like you died a long time ago. Your robe is black, your face is black, and your insides are black. You don’t seem to realize it, but night has come a long time ago. How can you live if you are afraid to die?”

I suddenly turned my head and looked at the setting sun.

Now the sun was well behind the horizon, and the blood-red sky was gradually darkening.

“Old man. The sun is setting. Night is coming.”

The old man groaned, looking at the western sky that he had never paid attention to.

My body was trembling.

“Ah… ahh… … .”

I whispered in the old man’s ear.

“The most splendid time has come to an end and night has come. Darkness has come.”

“Ah… no… … .”

“Night comes to everyone equally. Even though you have tried to avoid it, the pitch-black night has finally come to you. Welcome the Queen of the Night, who wears darkness like a dress. She is coming.”

“Gek… kkeu… that extreme… … .”

“Ketel, goddess of the cold night. Let one go. Let one wicked bastard go.”

His eyes suddenly rolled back.

The old man made a sound of phlegm boiling in his mouth, and then fell limply to the side.

Slap.

“……reel?”

I put my hand on my neck but I couldn’t feel a pulse.

He was dead before he could even stab the sword in.

“… … .”

I was dumbfounded for a moment and just stared at the bastard’s corpse.

It wasn’t my intention, but somehow I ended up killing him with my words.

I scratched my cheek, feeling slightly embarrassed, and then closed the wizard’s wide-open eyes.

“Go in peace. I don’t know if the afterlife will welcome the latecomer.”

When I think about it, this guy was a mean old man who kidnapped children.

Suddenly, I felt a fever and kicked the old man in the stomach, who had closed his eyes.

“You fucking idiot. Why are you bullying innocent kids and causing trouble?”

The old man rolled over and fell limply to the floor.

“… … .”

The fight is over.

In the end, I’m the one standing. The one who fell was the flute-playing wizard.

It was such a tough fight that it’s a wonder I didn’t die.

I let out a deep sigh.

“Phew… … .”

Only then did the tension melt away and the strength in my legs go away.

I sat down with a thud and looked up at the darkening sky.

Red sky. Next to him is a mad wizard.

It was a night that reminded me of the great red-haired wizard.

She was the coolest wizard I’ve ever known.

“… … Are you doing well?”

I never thought I’d say something like this.

I missed those damn Sherwood Mercenaries.

At that moment, the world that had been dyed blood red regained its original color.

The world is tilted upside down.

“… … Huh?”

The ground suddenly rose and hit my head, and soon my vision went black.

Has darkness come to me too?

* * *

Knock knock. Knock knock.

I heard the sound of a bonfire crackling.

It was snowing in the sky.

I exhaled smokey breath and watched the falling snow flakes.

It was a quiet night.

Suddenly my hands started to feel cold, so I put them near the campfire.

It was only then that I noticed the person sitting on the other side of the campfire.

A dark greatsword standing diagonally at the side. A bulky figure with a messy beard.

For some reason, it felt like it had been a long time since I saw you. I can’t believe there was a day when I missed that fierce face. Am I crazy?

I called him absentmindedly.

“colon.”

The captain, who had been blankly staring at the dancing movements of the bonfire, raised his head and looked at me as if asking what was going on.

What were you trying to say?

The moment I thought that, words came out of my mouth on their own.

“How is the captain so strong?”

The captain looked at me blankly and then asked abruptly.

“Seriously?”

I nodded with a very serious expression.

“Seriously.”

“You’re going to be a jerk again.”

“I won’t do it.”

The captain sighed as he split a log the size of his thigh with his bare hands and threw it into the fire.

“Whatever I say, what good does it do? I can only speak from my own perspective. I am me, and you are you. The lives we have lived are different, so what does that mean?”

I said, narrowing my eyebrows.

“Captain. Stop talking nonsense and tell me. Now. Before I kill you.”

The captain chuckled.

“A punk talking to the captain.”

“One or two days?”

“He’s a leader in name only. Very much.”

“When you speak to me, do it well.”

The captain looked at me, clicking his tongue.

“I won’t lose a single word.”

“We have to win at least this.”

The captain opened his mouth, licking his lips as if he had nothing to say.

“It’s a state of mind.”

“mental attitude?”

Words that were not typical of a leader poured out.

“People are bound to stop, settle, and become satisfied at some point. That’s where it ends. You might live a better life by stopping, or settle down and live happily in one place… … . But you won’t become stronger. When others stopped, I just moved forward.”

While I was pondering his words, the captain continued speaking.

“‘Isn’t this enough? I think I can stop.’, ‘I’m the best. There’s no one stronger than me here.’, ‘This is bullshit, I can’t do this anymore. Do this more?’. People stop and look back every once in a while for whatever reason. If you don’t look forward again, that’s the end. In other words, you’ve built a wall in your path and blocked it. How can you go forward if you’ve built a wall yourself?”

I thought deeply.

“Did I build a wall without realizing it…?”

The captain chuckled.

“You’re just seriously retarded.”

“… … .”

I picked up a big rock and threw it at him.

The captain avoided my decisive attack by tilting his head slightly without even looking and continued speaking.

“As I said before, I’m speaking purely from my perspective. Not yours. Because I can’t live as someone else. I didn’t settle down, and sometimes I looked back, but I kept moving forward, kept testing my limits, and threw myself into the line of death. I somehow managed to survive there, and that’s how I got here.”

“Why did you do that?”

“Well.”

The captain scratched his chin and said nonchalantly.

“I’m a bit greedy.”

“… … .”

Knock knock. Knock knock.

Silence fell around them.

We watched the fantastic dance of the bonfire in silence for a while.

The captain suddenly looked at me.

“Let’s say you were given a talent. You were given the ability to sense mana. Then when will you stop? When will you be satisfied?”

I answered without a moment’s hesitation.

“I, Ashvan. I am a man who is never satisfied.”

The captain chuckled.

“Keep that mindset in mind. Maybe one day you’ll meet destiny.”

“… … I wonder.”

Knock knock. Knock knock.

I stared at the campfire in silence… … .

Suddenly, I felt a sense of discomfort. No matter how close I brought my hand, I couldn’t feel any warmth.

‘What the heck is this… … .’

At that moment, the captain called me.

“Ashvan.”

When I suddenly raised my head, he was looking at me with an unreadable expression.

“Where the hell are you and what are you doing?”